


Zombie Patrol

by Rachael Sabotini (wickedwords)



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Yuletide, Yuletide 2006, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-25
Updated: 2006-12-25
Packaged: 2017-12-24 21:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/944960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedwords/pseuds/Rachael%20Sabotini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an AU future of season one, Peter and Claire are uniquely qualified to search through the radioactive remains of New York.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zombie Patrol

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sonya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonya/gifts).



> Yuletide 2006, during first season, well before certain key relationships were revealed. Thanks to elynross for the beta.

They'd crashed on the floor of the decaying brownstone, pulling the mattress off the rusted bedspring before flopping on it the night before. It's just past dawn, and, after dressing in the chilly morning air, Peter rubs his hands over Claire's back, loving ow she feels. The drip, drip, drip of water and the feel of frost in the air make this all little surreal; it's hard to believe that three years ago -- a lifetime ago -- they hadn't even met. He rubs the skin at the back of her neck, where it peeks out from under the blankets. "Hey sleepy--"  
  
With a strangled cry, Peter's head flies back; it feels like it's splitting open. His vision whites out, a heavy weight pressing against his chest, like he's sitting in the front of a high-speed bullet train. He can't breathe and his heart pounds; he can feel the thud in his chest like an elephant's footfalls.  
  
The sensation all stops abruptly, and his breathing eases, his heart rate returning to normal as the room swirls into focus. He's sitting in a booth in a nondescript pancake house somewhere; Peter has to blink in the bright light. Green vinyl booths are arranged in neat rows around sturdy wooden tables, while the world's oldest wait-staff goes around filling heavy ceramic cups with industrial strength coffee.  
  
Isaac and Hiro are sitting across from him, waiting for him to speak. There is compassion in Hiro's eyes; Hiro's an expert on finding yourself in a different place and time than you'd woken up in. Isaac's eyes are blank-white, the way they always are lately. The more he's used his powers, the harder it is for him to come back to reality. Peter wonders if his eyes ever clear anymore.  
  
Hiro lays a leather-clad glove on Isaac's shoulder and smiles at Peter. "He's here."  
  
"Peter?" Isaac's gaze is off, slightly to the right and a little up from where Peter is sitting.  
  
"Yes, Peter's here." Hiro's English is perfect, not a letter mushed or out of place.  
  
"When are you from?" Peter asks. "Future or past?" If it's past, it can't be that far past, as Hiro carries his dinosaur sword.  
  
"Future. Three months, more or less." Hiro flashes a smile. "It is hard to be exact."  
  
"We're gathering, Peter." Isaac lays his hand on the table, and Hiro presses a pen into the palm. "Near Four Corners monument in Arizona." He sketches a desert scene with a large outcropping of rocks onto a paper napkin and passes it across the table. "It's about six miles from the monument itself, on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. We need you to bring the key."  
  
"Who's gathering?" Peter picks up the paper and stares at it, wishing he could bring it back to his reality.  
  
"All of us," Hiro says. "Everyone we can find."  
  
"Everyone still alive," Isaac adds.  
  
Nathan hadn't survived. He'd plucked Ted off the streets and into the air, trying to get them both away before Ted exploded -- only it hadn't worked. Peter still aches with the memory of what his brother had done, how he tried to save them. Clare holds him those nights when the pain gets to be too much, anchoring him as the grief sweeps through him, driving reality away. Peter thinks that it's residual from Isaac's visions, but he's not sure.  
  
Peter nods, memorizing the picture. "I'll bring Claire."  
  
"Be careful, Peter." Hiro squeezes Peter's hand, looking at him intently. "Don't let your rakish charm get you into trouble." Peter feels the swift press of lips against his cheek, and Hiro is gone --Isaac, too -- the diner fading away, revealing a moldy bed in a studio apartment.  
  
Man, that never gets any easier.  
  
"Come on, Claire." Peter gently shakes her, coaxing her awake. While she's never been a light sleeper, coming here has taxed her powers enough that she sleeps deeply, her body as immobile as stone. Much of the city is still radioactive, but with Claire's invulnerability and his mimicry to protect them, they'd been sent to comb through the ruins together, looking for the key that Hiro insisted lay in the museum's remains.  
  
They'd found it, too. Peter pats the dark green crystal--Hiro's key--that rests in his pocket while Claire rolls to her side, blinking sleepily up at him. She looks perfect to him, all creamy soft skin and bright eyes. Once they get out of the hot zone, she won't have to hide behind long sleeves and dark glasses anymore. Her hair will probably grow back, too.  
  
Peter's not so vain. His short sleeve shirts leave his arms visible and he doesn't bother with a hat. He's got so many scars, the radiation damage doesn't matter. Nathan would say it's an improvement.  
  
"What's up?" she asks, grabbing her blue top from the floor and pulling it on before sliding out from under the blankets. Her skin is repairing itself from the radiation damage, just as his is, but there are patches that are still flaking off. Peter knows she hates it, so he doesn't tell her how good she looks today; she gets angry when he gives her too many compliments. She pulls on her jeans and her baseball cap, the one they got in New Orleans.  
  
"I dreamed," he says simply.  
  
"Good dream, bad dream, or dream dream?" Claire looks at him, tilting her head slightly, her nose wrinkling up. God, sometimes he can just see the cheerleader she used to be. Usually, it makes him laugh, but today...today, it reminds him of how quickly she had to grow up.  
  
He tries to shake off his mood. "It was a good dream. A vision. I know where Hiro and Isaac are."  
  
"What about the others?" she asks excitedly. "Mohinder, Niki-- my father?"  
  
"I don't know. They said they were gathering everyone, sooo..."  
  
"It's okay." Claire threads her fingers through his, tugging him in close. "We'll find them. You know how we are." She smiles at him, and it is like the sun breaking through the clouds. He has to stop and kiss her before they go on, her lips soft under his, welcoming him in.  
  
And oh, she feels good, so good. It's moments like this that Peter finally believes he might have been blessed. When he pulls away, she folds her arms across her chest and harrumphs. "We better get going then."  
  
"Yeah." Peter grabs their bags, handing her the smaller backpack before putting on the other. "It's just. Four corners. It's a long walk." He wistfully remembers what it was like to fly.  
  
"It's okay. We'll shamble along." She pulls on her boots and stomps her feet, grinning up at him. "I bet they have coffee for us when we get there. Oh! Once we get out of town, maybe we can steal a couple of bikes. That would be faster, wouldn't it?"  
  
"You are so clever, aren't you?"  
  
She shrugs. "I try."  
  
Linking his arm with hers, they step through the ruined entrance together and out into the sun.  
  
THE END  



End file.
